7 Realms

2 days can go by in a flash noticed Yao Tian

It felt like the Tournament, his father's defeat and his talk with Song Shou happened just a few hours ago.

Yao Tian was packing his bag, and that of Yao Bao, which was filled with all the necessary clothes, medicinal plants, and even many rations needed for the journey.

His brother was expectedly the most excited these last days. Running around screaming to everybody that he would leave the village to become an immortal.

Everyone was a little melancholic knowing that the Yao brothers would leave the village so soon.

But in the end, they were happy that the two boys could finally pursue a better future outside their village.

So aside, saying their final goodbyes, they would also gift them tokens for the siblings to remember them by.

Yao Tai was the most worried, he would constantly remind them to be mindful of strange people, to stay away from shady places, and to always prioritize their safety above all else.

He also passed down to Yao Tian his own spear that he would use to defend the village from the wild beasts.

His father had a sense of humour and always named objects that he thought valuable.

According to him this spear was called "Dawn breaker".

The reason for it's name was that most wild beast attracts would take place during down and his father would always be there to meet and break them with his spear.

Speaking of the spear, to say that the weapon was big would be an understatement.

The spear's shaft was completely dark and had a glossy spiral wood grain pattern.

It was specifically made to match Yao Tai's already irregular physique, strength and height.

The spear was nearly 3 meters tall, the materials used for the shaft of the spear were carved from the local Ironwood tree.

The tree itself was quite common in the Red Mountain region. Having the appearance of an Oak tree, the only distinguishing aspect, it possessed was its nearly indestructible black-colored twisted trunk and its unbelievable weight.

Some of the trees would weigh so much that with time it could crush the stone underneath and fall of the mountain sides.

And it's impact always cause small scaled earthquakes.

Its toughness surpassed normal iron and nearly reached the level of a steel alloy. But it kept the flexibility of wood.

The tree could be found nearly everywhere in the Jade Forest. The only reason that other powerful entities haven't already cut them all down, was because the Ironwood tree contained no trace of Spirit Qi. Even the simplest of plants had some level of Spirit Qi to survive and grow stronger.

The wood was made to be durable and though but could never mix with other heavenly Spirit Qi rich resources.

It was the toughest yet at the same time the weakest of all trees.

All of these aspects made the tree cost too much work to acquire and get so little out of it. While there are plenty of better alternatives out there.

It was basically useless.

The reason that their village had such a spear made of such material in the first place, was that out of everyone, only Yao Tai had the necessary strength to wield it.

And also because he is the one who create it.

The spear blade on the other hand could almost be considered to be a short sword. It was made from regular Wrought Iron, excellent for stabbing, and for any kind of spear attacks.

But the only major problem that came with Yao Tian's height being extremely small when put aside the spear. So much so, that it made the others laugh seeing the small boy trying to use such a weapon.

But Yao Tai was adamant that his son took the spear with him to at least train with it for now. After all, his boy would grow up to be a big man in the future.

He was sure of it.

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After sorting out all the assortments of gifts, Yao Tian finally arrived in front of the Blue Lily Pavillon, where he agreed to meet Song Shou.

It still amazed him how quickly they built such a big inn in a few days. And at the end of the festival, take it down as it was never made in the first place.

He was still very hesitant to enter the establishment as he was scared to meet that scary lady from before.

Just thinking about her gave him goosebumps.

Recalling the scary scene from the previous tournament fight almost made him back away.

"Get a hold of yourself Yao Tian! If I happen to meet her I'll just respectfully greet her and carefully leave with Song Shou as soon as possible. " He said to himself.

As he walked into the Pavillon he was immediately hit with an intense sweet fragrance that made him lose focus for a few moments.

The aroma made his cheek flush and made it harder to breathe.

Meanwhile, a few girls entertaining a few guests immediately recognized Yao Tian from the moment he and his brother roamed in the red light zone during the festival.

"Oh my! That young boy came back. And look he has already fallen under the effect of our 'special' incense. "

"The kid probably came back to meet us sisters. "

"Oh, hush both of you! He's but a small boy, he shouldn't be here in the first place."

The girls decided to help the boy out of his trance-like state before it became harmful to his young mind.

The third girl who spoke before took out a small bottle of perfume under her sleeves and brought it near his nose.

Yao Tian barely returned to his senses when he saw the group of ladies who had approached him.

He already did not like this place and seeing this familiar group, Yao Tian knew that he had to act quick!

"This little brother greets big sisters! My friend Song Shou told me to meet him here and would like to request big sisters' help to find him. "

The group taken by surprise did not expect the young boy to be so polite after seeing him running away last time. It was a letdown that they could not tease him while he was with them.

They knew that Sister Yu was expecting a few guests, so they had to lead the boy to her quarters soon.

"Such a shame that little brother isn't here to spend some time with us, but we understand that this is an important matter. Follow me, I will lead you to your friend. " Said the third girl of the group.

Still not completely free from his previous state, Yao Tian did his best to follow the girl who went along a long corridor.

Along the way, he would witness many uncomfortable scenes and interactions between the guests and the working girls.

Some of them were so embarrassing, that smoke could be seen coming out of his already red face.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Mei Zhen. " Said the girl.

'Mei Zhen? It suits her ' Thought Yao Tian after noticing her fair completion along with her adorable round face.

"It is nice to meet you Big sister Mei Zhen! My name is Yao Tian, and I would like to apologize for how I acted the last time we encountered each other. "

No matter how much he was flustered last time. It was still quite rude for him to run off so suddenly back then. So he took this opportunity to clear out any bad feelings.

"Hahaha! Oh, don't worry about that, we had quite the laugh from teasing you. Anyways, wish we could continue talking, but unfortunately, we have arrived. "

Mei Zhen stopped in front of a wooden door with a blue lily flower engraved on its surface. She slowly opened the door and faced Yao Tian, one last time.

"A piece of advice before you enter. No matter how easy-going Sister Da Yu may appear to be, you must always be respectful towards her no matter what. " Said Mei Zhen now in a serious tone.

"..."

Yao Tian's brain almost did not catch up to the words spoken to him.

Terror slowly seized his heart.

"D-Da Yu? But I came to meet Song Sh-"

Before he could even finish his words, Mei Zhen took the opportunity to immediately push him inside and close the door.

Yao Tian could hear her giggling from the other side as she walks away.

'That little cu-'

He cursed her countless time before slowly turning around.

The scene that met him was a spacious, organized office room with a large gold engraved wooden table in the middle.

Two people were seated in front of him. Behind the desk was the beautiful yet dangerous Mistress Da Yu.

She still looked as pretty as he remembered her. Unlike the rest of the girls in the pavilion who had pretty revealing dresses. She instead, still wore a tight qipao like before, but this time it was blue instead of red. Her long dark hair was tied into a bun with 2 long golden hair sticks holding it in place.

While the other person sitting on the opposite of the table was none other than his friend, Song Shou!

"Lady Yu, this is my friend who I was talking about earlier about inviting him into our world, Yao Tian. He may be a bit old to start cultivating, but I know that he possesses the proper will and talent to catch up with the rest. " Spoke Song Shou very respectfully towards Da Yu.

"Why hello there little boy, fate works in strange ways doesn't it? To meet again so soon. I heard from this man that you and your brother want to embark on the pursuit of immortality. "

"Yes, Lady Yu. " Said Yao Tian courtly without mixing wasting words while bowing. He really wanted to end this conversation quickly and leave this place.

"Well, before you leave the village it is important that you become aware of the different facts about cultivation beforehand. After all, an ignorant person is no different than a dead person or a puppet to be manipulated by others. "

She paused for a bit and let Yao Tian prepare himself.

"First of all, there exist 3 initial realms that everyone needs to reach to truly be considered as a true expert. "

"The first is the 'Body Reinforcement Realm', it is the beginning stage where everyone starts off at. You will need to consume Qi pills or bath in a special medicinal bath to allow your inner body and muscles to start absorbing Spirit Qi in the first place.

It will strengthen all of your capabilities to the limits of what a mortal could achieve. And unlike a regular mortal who needs to regularly train in order to maintain his strength, the 'Body Reinforcement Realm' will preserve your strength as long as Spirit Qi is available."

"This realm is divided into 4 stages of refinement with Muscle, Bones, Veins, and Organs. Each stage requires an increasing amount of resources, so most people with no background get stuck in this realm."

"Then comes the 'Outer Aura Realm', at this stage you have some measure of control of the Spirit Qi around you. Some use it to suppress mortals or intimidate weaker opponents. In this stage you could use elemental special techniques."

"You will also be able to gain superhuman levels of strength and speed. Crushing boulders with a punch will become a trivial accomplishment. You could be considered as an elite in any sect, qualified enough to become an inner disciple. This realm is divided into 9 stages."

"And lastly comes the hardest realm accomplished only by sect elders and sect patriarchs or matriarchs. It is the 'Inner Aura Realm', ij this stage you open up your dantian and meridians to start stockpiling the harvested Spirit Qi inside it. With this you could use special techniques and attacks that could even affect the weather. Some even use it to fly."

*Ssssss*

Yao Tian sucked a mouthful of air in astonishment. Granted, he never pursued the goal to become a cultivator, but he couldn't deny that the ability to fly was very attractive to him. Despite his mature way of thinking in the end he was still a young kid.

And every young kid always dreamt of flying once in their childhood. He could already picture him and his brother flying along with their father around the world and discovering new places while having loads of fun adventures.

For the first time, he was excited to journey outside the village.